fpdteam

HMRC has published their latest statistics on Child Trust Funds which reveal that whilst 320,000 accounts have now matured, 175,000 funds that have matured remain unclaimed.

If you turned 18 on or after 1 September 2020 there may be cash waiting for you in a dormant Child Trust Fund (CTF). If your children recently turned 18 you should also check if they have claimed the money to which they are entitled. The average market value of a matured but not withdrawn account was £2,142 and for a withdrawn account, was £2,721. The actual amount of money depends on a number of factors.

Children born after 31 August 2002 and before 3 January 2011 were entitled to a CTF account provided they met the necessary conditions. These funds were invested in long-term saving accounts for newly born children. 

Seven million CTF accounts were set up since the scheme was launched in 2002, roughly 6 million by parents or guardians and a further 1 million by HMRC where parents or guardians did not open an account.

Around 55,000 accounts mature each month and HMRC has created a simple online tool to help young people find out where their account is held. If you are unsure if you have an account or where it may be, it is easy to track down your provider online.

The actual CTF accounts are not held by HMRC, but by a number of CTF providers who are financial services firms. Anyone can pay into the account, with an annual limit of £9,000, and there is no tax to pay on the CTF savings interest or profit.

HMRC has launched a new consultation seeking views on proposed measures to address consumer protection issues for people who claim tax refunds through repayment agents. The 12-week consultation period started on 22 June and will end on 14 September 2022. HMRC is looking to introduce new measures to stop rip-off agents taking advantage of people and pocketing their tax repayments. 

HMRC has received increasing numbers of complaints from taxpayers who have used ‘repayment agents’. These are generally agents helping taxpayers and businesses make claims to HMRC that result in a tax repayment as their main service, without providing wider tax or accountancy services.

These businesses are often virtual, advertising on social media, and tend to operate a no-win no-fee commission-based structure with large volumes of relatively low value claims. The fees they charge are often opaque and can result in half, or even more, of a tax repayment being lost to the claimant.

HMRC’s Director General for Customer Strategy and Tax Design, said:

'We want to make sure taxpayers receive their full tax claims – putting 100% of the money they are due into their pockets – and not be taken in by the unscrupulous practices of some Repayment Agents.'

This consultation will seek views on:

• restricting the use of assignments, where contracts legally transfer the right to a repayment from a taxpayer to an agent.
• introducing measures designed to ensure taxpayers see material information about a repayment agent’s service before entering into a contractual agreement.
• requiring repayment agents to register with HMRC.

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is a well-known organisation that provides independent advice to the government on simplifying the UK tax system. 

The OTS has issued a press release to warn of a potential new tax scam that is using the OTS logo. 

The press release reads as follows:

We have been made aware of people receiving correspondence using the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) logo and signatures to request payment of ‘tax’. The OTS is not a tax collection agency, and the correspondence is not legitimate.

If you receive any demand for payment of any kind claiming to be from the OTS, you should report it to the National Cyber Security Centre by forwarding the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.

When the OTS was established, it was as a temporary office of HM Treasury, but Finance Act 2016 confirmed the government’s decision to provide for the permanent establishment of the OTS in statute.